Success in Shedd

 I went out today about 9:00, back to the big huge Shedd colony where so far 62 have been caught.

I knew of three more, at least, needing caught but one I believed to be a female, having seen her being chased by males in this video, from February 15.

The window was closed I figured and she'd probably already had kittens.   However, most of the males chasing her on that roof were at that time already fixed.  Shooting blanks in other words.  So the window may have been extended.  Gestation after implantation is about 60 days.   

Took me six hours, with a baited drop trap, which the cats ate under seemingly unconcerned about me in the car and the string and all those memories of me catching them one by one under there before.  How soon we forget with the help of tuna, catnip and Fancy Feast. 

The drop trap was the decoy.  Out by the barn I set up my larger tomahawk trap to trigger with the remote and put a plastic carpet runner atop it, because its still raining here.   I sprinkled catnip everywhere inside the barn, so they'd encounter it before they encountered the trap.   

All day other cats went in and out of it happily eating.  But the unfixed girl (or boy), lounged around atop a trailer over by the brambles.  For hours.  Wow, I thought, if that is a girl, she's either still pregnant or a really really bad mom.

BlackEye, a fixed torti, helped herself to quite a lot of food, inside the remote controlled trap.

I think its the former.  This photo of her atop the trailer, made me think oh my, if that's a girl, she's still pregnant.

The fixed cats were nosy.  One climbed into my car.

Red Wings were everywhere

Was nice to glimpse Taco the young muted torbi who spent a bit of extra time in my bathroom since I didn't have enough spots.

Finally after six hours there, the alleged female appeared by the barn, saw and smelled the trap, and went right in.  I hoped the remote sender and receiver batteries were still good, and pulled the trigger on the sender unit and 200 feet away, the receiver unit did indeed get the signal and moved the servo arm to drop the door.  Poor girl was mad at me, but too bad.  An era has ended with reproduction out there.

Cat Number 63, last known unfixed female at the colony, is caught.